Education and demonstration – Psychology
Reexamination Certificate
2001-10-26
2004-04-20
Rovnak, John Edmund (Department: 3714)
Education and demonstration
Psychology
Reexamination Certificate
active
06722885
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a picture based psychological test, in particular a computer based implementation of the test and a system for automation of at least part of the test.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is well known to apply various psychological test instruments when it is desired to determine a person's resources, behaviour, etc, such as:
A questionnaire, i.e. a multidimensional multiple choice language based test instrument forcing the person under test to select among different statements or to answer yes or no to a number of statements,
A multiple choice picture based test instrument forcing the person under test to select between a certain number of pictures (e.g. like or dislike),
An open picture based projective test instruments, e.g. Rorschach's inkblot test, asking the test person to describe what the person under test perceives. Later, this is categorised in relation to two or more predefined psychological characteristics,
Showing live or on video the interaction between people and rating non-structured and semi-structured observations of the interaction, e.g. observing interactions between a mother and her child using the rating of Strange Situations.
Each of these known test instruments applies a range of well known psychological characteristics relating to their respective field of use, e.g. human resource, psychiatry, social counselling, etc.
It is a disadvantage of the language based questionnaires that, typically, they are rather difficult to understand leaving an uncertainty concerning the tested person's interpretation of the questions. Further, they may be very long and comprehensive due to a desire of covering many aspects demotivating the person under test.
It is a disadvantage of the multiple choice picture based test instruments that they focus on static situations, typically the faces of a person, a group of colors, etc, without elements of interaction.
The open picture based projective test instruments have ambiguity relating to the interpretations of the answers of the person under test leading to ambiguity in the later categorisation of the answers.
Rating of observations has ambiguity relating to the interpretation of the person under test of the ongoing interaction in the observed situation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Thus, there is a need for a psychological test that is non-verbal, picture based, easy and quick to perform, that motivates the person under test, and that fulfills the scientific requirements of a psychological test.
According to the present invention the above and other objects are fulfilled by a dynamic picture based multiple choice test. The test may be used for the purpose of identifying a person's preferred way of interacting with other people. For example the test may be used to obtain knowledge of and describe relations within a family, a working team, a sports team, a study class, a political party, a religious community, etc.
It is an important advantage of the picture based test that it provides knowledge of human relations and interactions quickly, directly, and objectively.
It is another important advantage of the picture based test that it is non-verbal so that it is independent of the language used by the person whose relations and interactions are investigated with the invention. Further, it is easier for a person to relate to a picture than to a verbal statement.
Preferably, the pictures are culturally neutral so that they may be used all over the world.
A person whose preferred way of interacting with other people it is desired to determine is also called the test object, and a person who is undergoing the test is called the person under test or the test person. The test objects preferred way of interacting with others may be determined based on test results from the test object itself in combination with test results from other relevant persons. Thus, the person under test may be the test object or may be another person that has interacted with the test object.
In one embodiment of the invention, the four most important psychological characteristics of interactions and relations within a family have been identified, and the test provides information of the extent to which a person acts according to one of these characteristics.
During the test, the person under test is presented with a first picture of a first situation. Thereafter, the person under test is presented with a set of second pictures of respective second situations, e.g. four pictures of different second situations. The first situation and each of the second situations form a respective sequence of situations wherein the respective second situations may precede or succeed the situation depicted on the first picture. Then the person under test is asked to select the second picture that he perceives to have the most obvious relation to the first situation. For example, when the second situations succede the first situation, the test person selects the second situation that he perceives to be the most likely to occur after the first situation. The selection performed by the person under test may provide information on that person's preferred way of interacting with other people, or, it may provide information on that person's perception of another person's preferred way of interacting with other persons For example, information on a parents preferred way of interacting with the person's at least one child, or, a childs perception of one of the child's parent's way of interacting with the child may be provided.
In another example, information on a leader's preferred way of interacting with the leader's at least one subordinate, or, a subordinate's perceptions of the leader's way of interacting with the subordinate may be provided. Likewise for a teacher and the teacher's pupils.
The selections performed by the tested person may be input to a computer for processing of the selection for provision of an output charaterising the test object.
During the test, the person under test is presented with a plurality of first pictures and corresponding sets of second pictures.
In an embodiment for studying relations and interactions within a family, it is presently preferred to present the person under test with 24 first pictures and corresponding 24 sets consisting of four second pictures. The pictures depict a family in various situations. A parent under test is asked to select a second picture depicting the situation that the parent perceives most likely to precede or succeed the first situation in question. The parent's selection provides information on how the parent prefers to act in specific situations. Likewise, a child under test is asked to select a second picture depicting the situation that the child expects to succeed or precede the first situation in question thereby providing information on how the child perceives the interactions of the parents.
The first and second pictures may be adapted for use with persons of different age, i.e. a given set of first and second pictures may be used for testing a parent while a different set of first and second pictures may be used for testing a child between 3 and 7 years old while a still different set of first and second pictures may be used for testing a child between 8 and 15 years old.
According to the invention, interactions within a specific group of people, such as a family, a team, a study class, a political party, a religious community, etc. are described by a specific number of specific psychological characteristics. During the test, information is provided on the extent to which a person's interaction has the specific psychological characteristics.
The psychological characteristics have the same level of abstraction, they do not compete with each other in the description of human behaviour, they describe sustained human behaviour and they can be visualised.
For example, the psychological characteristics used to describe interactions within a family are focus, empathy, flexibility, and
Rovnak John Edmund
Volentine & Francos, PLLC
Westh Development ApS
LandOfFree
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